Exploring the Evidence for Water Birth
Water birth is proving an increasingly popular choice for many labouring women, yet controversy remains about its benefits and, above all, its safety. Why are Water Births Becoming So Popular? Water births, or water immersion in...
The Midwife and the Doula: the Case for Continuous Care in Labour
The very essence of midwifery care is to support a woman throughout her labour. For decades the concept of ‘continuity of care’ has been at the heart of maternity policies everywhere. In practice however, up to 85% of mothers...
Closing the Theory-Practice Gap: Is it Possible?
Moving to different clinical environments and embracing new responsibilities can be stressful and challenging for even the most experienced practitioners. But, for newly qualified staff managing the gap between theory and...
Assessing the Risks of Postpartum Haemorrhage
Somewhere in the world a woman dies every 4 minutes from postpartum haemorrhage (Durdas 2012). As well as being a terrifying experience for the mother it can also be one of the most serious and alarming emergencies that a Midwife...
Benchmarking: It’s All About Performance
Benchmarking in healthcare offers a practical way of measuring and comparing services. It can help improve performance, set standards of excellence and identify gaps in learning. So how is it done? What is Benchmarking?...
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) & Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)
Prenatal Alcohol Exposure. Is there a safe limit? Drinking alcohol prior to conception and during pregnancy can have significant adverse outcomes for the fetus. Both Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and the more severe Fetal...
Motivational Interviewing
The Stages of Change Model: (View the full Ausmed lecture: Communication and Engaging with People with Addictions) Making changes to established habits can be challenging and simply giving patients advice about the lifestyle...
Gestational Diabetes
What is Gestational Diabetes? During the last three months of pregnancy, approximately 7 % of women have such high levels of glucose in their blood that their body cannot produce enough insulin to absorb it all. This is known as...
Enhancing Rapport with Neuro-Linguistic Programming
Good communication skills and building a strong therapeutic relationship are the cornerstone of nursing work (Collins 2015). Part of being a good communicator is the ability to develop rapport, and neuro-linguistic programming...
Examination of the Newborn: The First 72 Hours of Life
“Is my baby healthy?” This is usually the first and most important question parents ask after delivery. Answering that question accurately requires careful observation, thorough examination and, if needed, onwards referral for...
Infertility and The Mind-Body Approach
Infertility is a disease of the reproductive system defined by the failure to achieve a clinical pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse (WHO 2017). There are, of course, many physical and...
Reflective Practice as a Tool for Growth
Nursing and Midwifery are changing at an ever-faster pace. Both learners and practitioners alike need to make an effort to keep up to date with new developments. Reflective practice done well, is an easy and effective way to do...